Five Guys to open on Kirkwood in November

A building permit for the new Five Guys restaurant hangs in the window Sept. 23 at 425 E. Kirkwood Ave.
Alex DerynBuy Photos

A Five Guys is being built on Kirkwood Avenue.

Franchisee Paul Gillard said he hopes to have it open in mid-November.

Gillard’s company, Gill Guys Group is a Five Guys franchising company. This will be its fourth Five Guys location in Indiana — the others are in Terre Haute, Columbus and another location in Bloomington.

The first Bloomington location, on College Mall Road, opened in 2010.

Gillard and his wife, Carol, started their franchising career when they owned Bloomington Sportsplex. They wanted to offer healthy food at the Sportsplex, so they put a Subway in. They sold the Sportsplex, now the Twin Lakes Recreational Center, in 2009.

Gillard sold the Sportsplex to the city of Bloomington but kept the Subway franchise. Then, wanting to expand his food franchise business, Gillard added the Five Guys.

Later, they sold the Subways and now just own Five Guys.

“We just want to concentrate on the Five Guys brand,” Gillard said.

Jim Gerstbauer, Monroe County Building Commissioner, said the permit was issued Sept. 5.

RenCon Services is the contractor for the project. Gillard said they completed demolition and have started the building process as of two weeks ago.

The project has been in the works for a year and a half. They took possession of the building, which was once a Panda Express and a Bloomington Bagel Company, in July 2018.

Gillard said the location on Kirkwood Avenue is great because it's close to campus gets a lot of foot traffic.

“It's the right fit for the student population right now, and although there are places that serve hamburgers on Kirkwood and on the square, there is not a true hamburger-focused restaurant anywhere down there," said Gillard.

Like what you're reading? Support independent, award-winning college journalism on this site. Donate here.